Strive To Stay Healthy

How OSI Group Grew From A Butcher Shop To A Global Business

When Otto Kolschowsky founded his butcher shop and retail store in Chicago back in 1909 he had no idea that it would one day be a global firm with offices and facilities spanning the globe. Over the next decade his business grew and he developed a wholesale side of the business which increasingly was where he was making the most money. In 1928 his two sons joined and he began to call his firm Otto & Sons.It was in 1955 that the biggest opportunity so far in the company’s existence came along. Roy Kroc wanted to open the first McDonald’s franchise, which was in Des Plaines, Ohio, and needing a supplier of fresh beef he turned to friends he had, Otto’s two sons Arthur and Harry Kolchowsky.

This was in hindsight a fateful development, particularly after Roy Kroc bought McDonald’s and became its chief executive officer. Supplying restaurants and grocery stores with protein is now this company’s business. It was renamed OSI Group in 1975 and Harry and Arthur started to retire. They brought in Sheldon Lavin as a partner as he had been a huge help getting a financing deal for them recently and they were impressed by his business skills. He took over as chief executive officer and OSI Group now has many different customers across the world. Something that has become recently popular in recent years is using fresh processed meat instead of frozen.

One need look no further than McDonald’s starting to use fresh beef in their Quarter Pounders which has been a huge success. Since OSI Group is a very innovative company with a global supply chain they have been able to successfully supply McDonald’s with fresh beef patties made to this restaurant’s exacting standards in regards to size, shape, weight, and more. The researchers at OSI Group are hard at work adapting to changing consumer preferences such as a desire for more fresh protein sources over processed. They have been boosting their efforts to develop advanced processes where the meat they provide is harmless and very safe to eat for consumers.